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Coming Updates

September
We're working diligently to prepare for a big CD update in September for California. Here are the early details of the shipment:

• Local Forms - We are adding to several of our ProDoc volumes new mandatory local forms. We're also updating local forms in nearly every volume pursuant to local county updates.
• Workers' Compensation Volume- At customers' request, we're adding the following non-EAMS and non-legacy forms: Subpoena, Subpoena Duces Tecum, Declaration Pursuant to Labor Code Section 4906(g), and Fee Disclosure Statement.
• Introducing our New Federal Litigation and Federal Criminal Law volumes - Yes, we will finally debut these two much-anticipated volumes in California.

December
Our final major update of the year will be our end-of-year legislative and 2010 Judicial Council Forms release in December.

Past Updates

June CD Update
This was a significant shipment containing the mid-year Judicial Council Forms (JCFs) update and they affected every ProDoc volume containing those forms. The changes included the following:

• Family Law - We added 11 forms and updated 18 JCFs in accordance with the July JCF 2009 changes.
• Probate - We updated one JCF in accordance with July 2009 changes and we updated 12 local court forms.
• Lipman's Wills & Trusts - We added numerous additional options to wills and trusts forms, removed the Comprehensive Wills and Trusts, added Supplemental Needs and Retirement Benefits Trusts, and more.
• Litigation - We added 10 and updated 16 JCFs in accordance with July 2009 changes.
• Guardianships - We added JCF GC-210APF, Attachment to Petition for Appointment of Guardian - Professional Fiduciary, and updated three other JCF forms in accordance with July 2009 changes. We also added one mandatory local form, Notification to Court of Address of Guardian (012G) - Sacramento County.
• Conservatorships - We added one and updated three JCFs in accordance with July 2009 changes. We also updated one local court form.
• Juvenile Law - We updated two JCFs in accordance with July 2009 changes.
• Criminal Law - We updated four JCFs in accordance with July 2009 changes.
• Landlord and Tenant - We updated three JCFs in accordance with July 2009 changes.
• Attorney-Client Matters - We updated two JCFs in accordance with July 2009 changes.
• Court Names and Addresses Updates - We updated court names and addresses in multiple counties. For example, the Tehama County Courthouse changed a P.O. Box number, the East branch courthouse in Sutter County now hears traffic cases, and Siskiyou County closed the Happy Camp Branch Courthouse.

More specific details about the update >>

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If you are not sure whether you installed it, there is an easy way to determine this. Open ProDoc and look in the extreme upper left corner. It should show ProDoc Version 5.24. If it shows an earlier version, you are not current.

If you cannot find the CD or you cannot find the KeyCode to install the update, call the Tech Support team at 800-759-5418, option 3, for assistance.

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Q:  I think that ProDoc documents look better if there is a double space between paragraphs, sections, etc.  So I add these the hard way.  Is there a way to do this automatically?  Could ProDoc make this an option?
A: One option would be to modify the master template for a specific form. You would need to go into each master form and make the modification manually-probably not much better than you are doing now. The better option would be to modify the document formatting to increase the line spacing.

Q:  How do I make suggestions for forms I would like to see added to ProDoc or about improvements I would like to see added to ProDoc?
A: We love suggestions like this. Please email them to our .

Q: Can we schedule someone to come out for a training session with 2 of our employees?
A: We no longer offer on-site training. But, our training over the internet is more flexible and goes over really well. Internet-based training enables you to receive the training more quickly and at a time more amenable to your schedule. Formerly, you had to wait until one of our trainers was in your area and we didn't have a lot of flexibility on time slots. Today, you can schedule a training session within a matter of days and at a time that makes the most sense for your staff. Please call 800-759-5418, option 4, to set up a session for your office.

Q: Can you please add a function that will allow me to print an entire sheet of address labels? It seems that it will only allow me to print one label from the entire sheet of labels.
A: Go to Print → Labels, and then choose your label style. The most commonly used style is the Avery 5160 style that will print on the 30-labels-per-page - laser. If you use an inkjet printer you should get the the 6460 labels for inkjet printers—but stil select 5160 as the ProDoc label style.

Next, choose whether you want to skip printing labels for the first (number) contacts. Then, select whether you wish to send to all your Contacts or whether to select only specific contacts. Finally, we suggest that you leave Print Preview checked, click the Print button, and review your labels-to-be before you actually print them.

Q: An option to unlink a field so you can change an item would be helpful.
A: We don’t have a feature like that but we do enable you to rather easily change an answer without recreating the document.

Q: After I have changed a case answer, how do I redraft the document without going through an entire assembly process again?
A: You'll find that answer, along with other options for revising forms here.

Q: I miss the categories tab. I was able to categorize my cases by year and type.  It was good for statistic keeping.  Any reason that tab was taken out?
A: We haven't removed anything from ProDoc and/or SOS. I assume that you are talking about the Categories feature in the SOS Clients and Cases window. First, make sure that the Use of Categories did not get accidentally turned off:

• Open SOS
• Click on Setup→Personal Preferences→Preferences
• Under Options, make sure that Categories is checked. If it was unchecked you’ve just identified the problem.

If it was checked:

• Go to Setup → System Manager → Categories
• Make sure your category of choice is still listed.

If it is listed, you should be in good shape to be able to assign categories to your various contacts. If they are not listed, simply add them back.

Q: I get an error message when I try to access Help in ProDoc. Why can't I get Help from this program?
A: This is a common problem with Microsoft® Vista and it has an easy solution. You need to go to:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=6EBCFAD9-D3F5-4365-8070-334CD175D4BB&displaylang=en

and download and install the Windows Help program (WinHlp32.exe) for Windows Vista file. You should then be fine with the ProDoc Help system.

Submit your ProDoc question(s) >>

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ProDoc Customer Support: Creating and Using Forms Sets
The ability to build, save and use Form Sets is one of the best time savers that ProDoc offers to you. In virtually every law practice, many different clients will need the same group of forms for similar cases. Form Sets enable firms to prepare these documents quickly and easily.

Form sets enable you to:

• Simplify the form selection process by selecting, with a single click, the entire set of forms to be assembled-instead of searching for them one at a time. You can omit any unneeded forms for a particular assembly session.
• Eliminate duplicate questions and answers in the assembly process. Any questions common to more than one form in the set will only be asked and answered once.
• Include your own Supplemental Forms in a set to meet any special needs you may have.
• Allows you to quickly choose and print a variety of worksheet question lists taken from every form in the form set (Print → Worksheets → Select Forms button). This provides you a standard case input worksheet for clients.

See how easy it is to set up and use Form Sets in ProDoc >>

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Practice Tip: Accepting Credit Card Payments
A ProDoc customer recently asked if we had any information or suggestions about credit card processors for small law firms. While we do not, it seemed like a good idea to tap into our customer base to see what resources on this topic are available and see what we tips can be shared.

For background information about the advantages of accepting credit card payments, read Do You Accept Credit Cards? by Jim Calloway, Director OBA Management Assistance Program.

If you have experience with accepting credit card payments, please add a note about you experiences as our new Accepting Credit Card Payments forum.

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Tech Tip: Syncing Your PDA and Outlook
You opened an important case-related email on your PDA. But, you need it saved to your Microsoft® Outlook at the office. So, you forward it to yourself and try to remember not to open it again on your PDA. There has to be a better way, right?

Exchange Hosting enables you to view your email on both your email client on your computer and your PDA. Additionally, it syncs your Microsoft Outlook Contacts and Calendars so you can view and update them on one device and view the changed data on the other.

You have two options: the cheapskate-option or monthly-subscription-option starting at less than $10 per month.

1. The cheapskate option - Use Google Sync for mobile. The downside is that you are on your own for customer support. The Google Gmail feature works with iPhone, Windows Mobile, Motorola devices, Sony Ericsson, Nokia/Symbian devices, Palm WebOS devices, and Blackberry devices.
2. The monthly-subscription option - You have many choices of providers who will provide hosted Microsoft Exchange Servers services to you for a relatively modest monthly fee. The advantage is that you can continue to use your present email address. You can use a hosted exchange with iPhone, Windows Mobile, Blackberries (if the hosting company has installed the Blackberry server) and certain Palm OS phones (requires 3rd party applications).

Read more about Exchange Hosting >>

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Tech Tip: Quickly and Easily Convert Web Pages to PDFs
Ever come across a web page that you want to save and archive? An easy solution to this challenge is to install a free program called pdfdownload™. It enables you to convert any unsecured web page into a high-quality PDF file that you can save to any destination that you want.

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Tech Tip: How to Send Files that are too Large for Email
What do you do when you have to provide a large electronic file to someone? Especially when that file is too big to send by email. And, how you do you make sure that it is kept confidential since email is notoriously a bad choice for sending sensitive information?

One free option is drop.io. You choose a drop name, control who has access to the file(s), set up the time frame that the file is available, add any notes, upload your file(s) to drop.io, and alert your recipient(s) about the availability. Your recipient(s) can then login, view, print, and/or download the files.

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